Archie Jefferson, a brother of imprisoned former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, lost a bid Tuesday to have a contractor fraud charge against him tossed out. Jefferson, 58, of New Orleans, who owns the contracting firm The Jefferson Group LLC, is accused of theft, for withholding a $14,000 payment to a subcontractor he hired to work on a home in Marrero.

Jefferson denies it, and his attorney George Gates sought to have the case dismissed in part because the Jefferson Parish district attorney's office charged Jefferson with misapplication of funds.

Such a crime never occurred, Gates said, and the subcontractor, TMB Services of Destrehan, was not paid the $14,000 balance on the contract because it had not completed the work.

"This is a civil matter that should be handled in civil court," Gates argued.

Jefferson, who is free from jail on a $5,000 bond, said nothing during the hearing and sat during its entirety in the back of the courtroom.

Assistant District Attorney Jerry Smith said that Gates' argument was procedurally improper, and that Jefferson had gotten money from the homeowner but did not pay the subcontractor. Smith said Gates' arguments should be reserved for the trial.

Jefferson's firm elevated the home and in June 2011 entered into a $24,000 contract with TMB Services to complete the job, which included electrical, mechanical and plumbing work.

TMB Services received $10,000, but Jefferson would not pay the $14,000 after the work was finished in July 2011, Detective Todd Rivere of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office wrote in the arrest warrant application.

Gates said Jefferson Parish inspection and code enforcement documents show that TMB Services' work had failed inspections, meaning its work was not complete. As such, he said, there was no crime. Gates said he will appeal Rowan's decision.

TMB Services, meanwhile, sued The Jefferson Group in 2nd Parish Court in Gretna, in an attempt to recoup the $14,000. Ad hoc Judge Christine Remy sided with TMB Services last year, finding that Jefferson defaulted because he never responded to the civil lawsuit

TMB Services' attorney filed the lawsuit on Nov. 14, 2011, and after Jefferson failed to respond to the lawsuit by February 2012, Remy ordered him to pay TMB Services $14,000 plus $350 in court costs and interest, records show.

Gates is asking that the ruling, a default judgment, be reversed on grounds that Jefferson was never properly served with the lawsuit in the first place. A hearing is set for May 21, records show.